Legacy Planning
Legacy Planning
Create a lasting impact by strategically arranging your estate and assets to support COTS's mission of providing assistance, shelter, and affordable housing to Vermonters who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness.
We love surprises, but there are a few reasons we’d love to know about your plan to include COTS in your legacy giving. Click below to learn more.
Become a part of the COTS Legacy Society and enjoy a membership pin, special mission and program updates, and invitations for all things COTS! We know you are one of our most loyal supporters and we want to share all the happenings at our organization.
If there is a particular area of COTS’ mission that moves you, having conversations about what matters the most to you can ensure your gift is directed as you intended.
Estate and bequest planning can feel overwhelming and intimidating for many and the impacts of such gifts can feel vague and distant. By sharing your generosity, why you picked COTS, and what leaving a legacy means to you, you can inspire others to start thinking about how they too can make a significant impact on a cause they’re passionate about.
If you are making a bequest through a will or living trust, you can modify your beneficiaries at any time. An intention to give a bequest to COTS is not a legal requirement that you make that gift to COTS.
Even if you don’t know or want to share the amount of a planned gift, we’d still love to include you in our COTS Legacy Society. Any information you do choose to share with COTS will be kept completely confidential if you prefer to remain anonymous.
The IRA Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) permits taxpayers aged 70½ to donate up to $100,000 from their required annual distributions to charitable organizations, such as COTS, from their IRAs without counting them as part of their Adjusted Gross Income (AGI).
The advantages are two-fold: First, every dollar counts toward satisfying your required minimum distribution (RMD) for that year. Second, the entire amount of the QCD you direct to charity is excluded from your taxable income. Gifts must be made by December 31st.
Making a gift from your IRA is easy! Visit your retirement account provider’s website to submit an online request for a direct distribution to COTS or use this IRA distribution letter template to mail your request directly to your retirement account provider.
You’ll need these details to complete your distribution request:
Legal name: Committee on Temporary Shelter
Mailing address: PO Box 1616, Burlington, VT 05402
Federal tax ID number: 03-0285606
Talk to your financial advisor about IRA charitable rollovers to determine if this option is suitable for you.
Please note: If you have a specific intention for your IRA gift, please contact COTS staff directly to communicate those details. Retirement account administrators typically do not include gift details beyond a donor’s name and address to charitable organizations.
Did you know?
Your heirs pay the highest tax when inheriting a Traditional IRA. Based on a 24% marginal income tax bracket, if you left a $80,000 IRA to your heirs, around $19,000 would go to cover federal income taxes, with only $61,000 remaining to inherit. Because nonprofits are tax-exempt, the full value of your IRA can be transferred to the organization(s) of your choosing. For this reason, many choose to make nonprofit IRA beneficiary designations part of their legacy giving plans and leave less heavily taxed assets to their loved ones.
The simplest way to make a bequest gift to COTS is by leaving a gift in your will or trust. To designate a specific gift for COTS, just add the following language to your will:
“I give to the Committee on Temporary Shelter, Tax ID 03-0285606, at PO Box 1616, Burlington, VT 05402, [insert $____ amount, percentage of residuary estate, or otherwise name gifted assets] for general charitable purposes [or otherwise state donor restrictions].”
Contact an attorney to discuss your options and get help with drafting a will or trust. Free online tools like FreeWill can be used to create a legally-binding will in just a few minutes.
Even if you don’t have a will, you can still make beneficiary designations. For the following accounts, you can easily add the Committee on Temporary Shelter as a sole or partial beneficiary.
Important! Make sure to designate COTS by our legal name, Committee on Temporary Shelter (Tax ID 03-0285606) if you make this kind of beneficiary designation.
What kinds of accounts have beneficiary designations?
- Donor-Advised Funds (Fidelity Charitable, Schwab Charitable, Vanguard Charitable, etc.)
- Retirement accounts (IRAs)
- Life insurance policies: If you own or purchase a life insurance policy and make COTS the owner and beneficiary, you may be able to deduct the premiums as a charitable gift. Learn more about donating your life insurance. Consult with your accountant or tax attorney for questions regarding this type of gift.
- POD (payable-on-death) bank accounts: Free and simple to set up, POD accounts avoid probate and make asset transfer quick and easy. Covers checking and savings accounts, certificate of deposits (CD), and money market accounts.
- TOD (transfer-on-death) arrangements: Free and simple to set up, TOD arrangements avoid probate and make asset transfer quick and easy. Covers investment accounts, individual retirement accounts, 401(k) accounts, and brokerage accounts.
Legacy Giving Key Terms:
Bequest: A legacy or the act of giving or leaving a gift after death.
Beneficiary: A person or organization legally designated to receive benefits from a will, trust, or insurance policy upon someone’s death.
Estate: All property and monetary assets that make up a person’s net worth, left by a person at death.
Will: A simple legal document that includes instructions on how you want your estate to be distributed to your beneficiaries after your death. A will is the most common and popular choice when giving a bequest.
Revocable Trust or Living Trust: A legal arrangement in which the creator decides how their assets are managed, both during and after their lifetime. A living trust can be amended over the lifetime of a trust and allows the creator to name themselves as a trustee. Living trusts can be expensive and arduous to set up, but it might be a good option if you are concerned with privacy, avoiding probate, outlining how assets should be administered if you become incapacitated, or if you have a complex estate. Talk to a financial advisor to determine if a living trust is a good fit for you.
Irrevocable Trust: A legal arrangement that removes assets from the creator’s taxable estate in which the creator must designate a separate trustee to oversee trust assets. The creator cannot change or end the trust after its creation. Trusts can be expensive and arduous to set up, but you might choose an irrevocable trust to limit estate taxes or to shield assets from creditors. Talk to a financial advisor to determine if an irrevocable trust is a good fit for you.
Probate: “The legal process that takes place after someone passes away, ensuring their assets are distributed according to their will (if they have one).”